'G.I. Joe: Retaliation' Debuts Atop Box Office on Easter Weekend

April 1, 2013 (2:04 am) GMT

The other new releases making into the top ten on this Good Friday weekend are 'Tyler Perry's Temptation' and 'The Host' at No. 3 and 6 respectively.

"G.I. Joe: Retaliation" wins the race to the top spot on North American box office. Receiving a "A-" from CinemaScore, the action movie starring Channing Tatum, Bruce Willis and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson ranks at No. 1 on its opening week with an estimated $41.2 million on Easter weekend.

Although falling short of matching the opening weekend gross of its predecessor "G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra" which bowed with $54.7 million domestically in 2009, the Jon M. Chu-directed flick scores one of the best showings ever for the Easter holiday and marks the top international debut of the year so far.

It bags $51.7 million domestically in four-day take, posting the second-best domestic Easter take behind 2010's "Clash of the Titans" ($61.2 million). It additionally rakes in $80.3 million overseas, 10% higher than "Oz: The Great and Powerful" which previously collected $69.9 million outside North America.

"Tyler Perry's Temptation" enters at No. 3 with approximately $22.3 million and "The Host (2013)" debuts at. No 6 with an estimated $11 million. The drama thriller, a departure from Perry's comedic fare, gets an "A-" from CinemaScore. Meanwhile, the movie adaptation of "Twilight" author Stephenie Meyer's sci-fi novel of the same title receives a "B-".

Last week's champ "The Croods" about pre-historic family steps down to No. 2 with approximately $26.5 million (39.5% drop), bringing in a total of $88.6 million for its two-week domestic gross. "Olympus Has Fallen" about the White House takeover by terrorists falls to No. 4 with $14M, and wizard adventure flick "Oz: The Great and Powerful" rounds up the top 5 with $11.6M.